Scientific American Magazine

Between the late 1960's and the start of this decade it declined by about a third, and without new Federal initiatives the future health of mathematics is at risk. A plan for renewal is presented

Study of genes encoding the molecules of the malaria parasite's outer coat reveals a class of proteins forming repeated antigenic sites. They may serve as decoys deflecting the immune response

When a large star runs out of nuclear fuel, the core collapses in milliseconds. The subsequent "bounce" of the core generates a shock wave so intense that it blows off most of the star's mass

Each of the 2,000 varieties is made from mammalian milk in a process consisting of some nine steps. The measures taken at particular steps determine the variety produced

The blue crab intermittently sheds its shell and forms a new one. One result is a summer delicacy: soft-shell crabs. The chemistry underlying the formation of a new shell is now being illuminated

X-ray studies of crystals compressed between a pair of gem-quality diamonds reveal a range of responses to increased pressure. Changes in atomic structure are best viewed in terms of polyhedral geometry

We perceive our surroundings as stable in spite of the relative motion given the environment by our own movement, because the perceptual system can compensate for such displacements

The victim of its own composition and of modern air pollution, Europe's most radiant art is now threatened with destruction. The efforts at preservation depend on knowledge of the glass